Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-06-16

therefore IN this case also we recognize
the larger body as belonging to differ
ent class.
Now, Sirius is one of family of suns
which. though not distinguishable. or.
at least, not very obviously distinguish
able. from other suns by their appear
ance. can be easily distinguished by
means of that wonderful instrument Of
research. the spectroscope. To the
naked eye the stars of the same family
as Sirius present steely whiteness.
very easily to be distinguished from the
creamy. even rather yellowish white of
the stars which resemble our own sun.
Sirius. Vega, Affair and other stars of
the first magnitude present this steely
or bluish-white tint, but it is recogniza-
bic also in many stars which are not of
the first magnitude, or even of the Sec
ond. The spectroscope, however, gives
the only trustworthy evidence by which
the stars of this class are to be distin-
guished. The light of Sirius, sifted
out by the spectroscope, is remarkable
for the great strength and breadth
of the dark lines of hydrogen-in
other words. the four particular tints
which hydrogen is capable of emit
ting. and, therefore, of absorbing. are
so strongly absorbed by the hydrogen
around Sirius as to show that that
hydrogen is much greater in quantity
and is much denser than the hydrogen
around our sun. There is no mistak.
ing evidence of this sort. 1t is what
we might have expected in the case of
sun much larger and much more
massive than our own. If We had
recognized it in Sirius, without know
ing. as we do, that Sirius is much
larger than our sun, We might have
inferred the superior size of Sirius
from this popularity alone. How
much more certainly, however, do we
recognize the force of such evidence.
when we find it corresponding with
what We had already learned other
wise! Now, out of six hundred stare
observed by Secchi with the spectros-
cope, half were found to present
the peculiar spectrum with strong lines
of hydrogen. indicating an extensive
envelop of this gas, much denser than
the hydrogen round the sun. Among
these three hundred stars, some, like
the first-magnitude brilliants Affair
and Vega, are known to be very much
larger than our sun. We may safely
infer that every one of these stars (half
of the total number observed by Sec
chi) are of this larger class, so much
larger than our sun. as We find from
the typical case of Sirius, that we are
obliged to set them in a separate class.
Thus, then, there is a family or system
of giant suns superior to our own in
glory, in size. and doubtless in might
also. If We apply to these bodies the
same kind of reason which has been al
ready applied to the planets, and has
been confirmed by their aspect. we in.
fer that these giant suns have much
longer stages of sun-life; and that. on
the whole, they are much younger than
our sun, so far as development is con.
cerned, having, in fact. passed through
much shorter portions of their much
longer lives.
l may add that discovery recently
made. seems to show that for centuries
Me have had evidence, where we
should certainly have little expected
to find it. respecting the giant suns.
1t has been found that among the me-
teOric visitants Of our earth are some
which arrive with velocities so great
that even the mighty attractive energy
of our sun. is not able perceptibly to
alter their courses, while the swift
rush of our earth upon her course
around the sun is almost as rest COM
pared with the tremendous velocities
with which these bodies enter the solar
system. As shower of rain is af-
fected in apparent direction by our
motion through it in a carriage,
rs a shower of bullets from long
range rifles would not be, so meteOrs
of ordinary velOcities. to 80. 40. 80. or
even 1000 hundred miles per second.
are affected in their apparent course
by the rush of the earth through them
at q rate of l84 miles per second.
But now meteors have been dis
covered and classified which rush into
the solar domain with such velocities
that the earth's motion in her orbit Is
by comparison as nothing For three
or four months in succession, largely
though the earth changes the direction
of her motion in that time. these mete-
ors come from the same apparent di-
rectiOn, or. in technical terms, have
the same apparent radiant on the
celestial sphere. Regarding ordinary
meteors as having had their velocities
impaired to them by the sun. or by the
giant planets. as have, think, shown
to be probable. whence else can these
extra swift meteOrs have derived their
amazing velocities but from the giant
suns? Strange if it should come to be
proved by steady meteoric inflow from